Paper strip cutter and gluing apparatus



April ll, 1950 R. s. HosMER l-:rAL

Fm STRIP CUTTER AND GLUING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 10, 1948 April 11, 195o R. s. HOSME mu. 2,503,439

PAPER STRIP CUTTER AND GLUING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 10, 1948 2 Sheets-SheetZ Patented Apr. 11, 1950 OFFICE PAPER STRIP CUTTER AND GLUING APPARATUS Robert S. Hosmer and Frazier O. Hosmer, Birmingham, Ala.

Application January 10, 1948, Serial N0. 1,565

Our invention relates to apparatus for cutting a strip of paper from a sheet and gluing the same to an envelope, pay check, card, or the like, and has for an object the provision of apparatus of the character designated embodying means operable to cut successive strips of paper from a sheet, glue each strip to an envelope, and eject the envelope after the strip is glued thereto.

A further object is to provide apparatus of the character designated in which a rotatable relatively wide roller is mounted on a suitable carriage for reciprocation closely adjacent a stationary cutter, whereby a sheet placed over the cutter has a strip sheared therefrom by the coaction of the moving roller and stationary cutter, together with means responsive to reciprocation of the carriage to feed the sheet inwardly once during each cycle of reciprocation, the feed means being so regulated that a slip of the correct width is placed in position to be sheared by the roller.

Another object of our invention is to provide an applicator for placing liquid or semi-liquid adhesive on the second envelope from the top of a stack of envelopes during the ejection or non-cutting stroke of the carriage, together with means to raise the adhesive applicator out of contact with the envelope and strip during the cutting stroke of the carriage, thus assuring that adhesive is placed only on the surface of the envelope which is to receive the strip.

Another object is to mount the strip shearing roller above a stack of envelopes biased upwardly by means of a spring, whereby the roller simultaneously cuts and presses the strip into contact with the surface of the envelope to which adhesive has previously been applied by the applicator, together with an ejector for removing the uppermost envelope from the stack after the strip is pressed into contact thereon and on the return or non-cutting stroke of the carriage.

Further objects of our invention are to provide apparatus of the character described in which the roller and cooperating stationary cutters are free of sharp surfaces or edges capable of injuring an operators hand; in which the adhesive applicator is automatically inoperative during that portion of the operating cycle when adhesive is not being applied; to provide mechanism whereby a strip may, by a simple manipulation of the controls, be cut from the sheet but not glued to an envelope, together with means to eject such a strip from the apparatus; and to provide apparatus which may be used selectively as a strip cutter, an adhesive applicator,

l Claims. (Cl. 216-21) a sheet perforator, or a combination of the above.

Apparatus embodying the features of our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a part of this application in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of our improved apparatus partly broken away and in section, and showing a stack of envelopes in place therein with the uppermost envelope of the stack in the process of being ejected;

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view taken generally along the line II-II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3' is a planview of the discharge end of the apparatus with certain parts broken away for the sake of clarity;

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view of the adhesive tank and applicator roller;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view taken along the line V-V of Fig. l, drawn to an enlarged scale, and illustrating the envelope ejecting mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view taken along line VI-VI of Fig. 2 and showing the ejector for removing the rejected strip from the apparatus;

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view illustrating a modified form of cutting roller and stationary cutters;

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view on an`en1arged scale illustrating the method of cutting and pressing the strip into contact with the surface of the envelope.

Referring now to the drawing for a better understanding of our invention, our improved apparatus comprises a frame Ill which may be of metal bent to form an elongated box open at the rear end II. At the rear end II of the frame, on the top thereof, we mount a bracket I2, and adjacent the discharge end I3 we mount a bracket I4.

Secured to the brackets I2 and I4 are a pair of upper and lower rods I6 and I1. Mounted to reciprocate on the rods between the brackets I2 and I4 is a carriage indicated generally by the numeral I8 and provided with openings I 9 and 2| through which pass the rods I6 and I1, respectively. Rotatably mounted on the lower part of the carriage I8 in any suitable manner as vby means of a stud 22 is a relatively wide roller 23. As shown more clearly in Fig. 2 the roller 23 projects slightly below the top edges cf a slot 24 formed in the top 26 of the box-like frame I0. The roller 23 is thus disposed to coact with the edges 24a and 24h of the slot 24 to shear a sheet of paper or other material as asoacso 3 the carriage reciprocates on the rods I8 and I1, as will be explained.

The carriage is provided with al third opening 21 in which is slidably disposed a short rod 28. The rod 28 is provided with stop pins 28 and 8| on either side of the carriage thereby to limit its axial movement in the opening 21. The ends 82 and 88 of a flexible cable 84 are secured to the ends of the rod 28, and are threaded over wlleys 36 and 81 rotatably mounted in suitable brackets 88 and 88 carried respectively by the end brackets I2 and I4. Mounted in a bearing 4I at the top of the end bracket I2 is the shaft 42 of a drum 43 about which the cable is wrapped. The drum is provided with a crank 44 by means of which the same may be rotated. It will be apparent that when drum 48 is rotated, carriage I8 reciprocates back and forth, the pins 28 and 8| acting as stops to transmit the motion of the cable through rod 28 to the carriage, and allowing a slight lost motion between the rod 28 and carriage.

The box-like frame I8 provides a compartment 46 beneath the slot 24 and roller 28 for the reception of a stack of individual envelopes E. Disposed within the opening 46 is an elongated plate 41, movable vertically within the compartment 46, on top of which is placed the stack of envelopes. Beneath the plate 41 is an arm 48 mounted on a cross shaft 48, journaled in suitable bearings 6| and 52 carried by the :frame I8. One end of the rod 48 projects from the frame I8 and carries a handle 53. A spring 54 is secured at one end to the handle 58 and at the other end to a pin 58 projecting from the side of the frame I8. Adjacent the discharge end I8 of the frame is a wall 51 for the compartment forming a stop for the end of the stack of envelopes. The upper end of the wall terminates below the top 28 to permit an envelope to slide of! the top of the stack. The stack of envelopes resting on the plate 41 is biased upwardly by the spring 54 thereby to position the uppermost envelope E of the stack in contact with the lower side of the top 26 of the frame i8, and to position it immediately below the slot 24 and roller 28.

On the side of the carriage adjacent the end bracket I2 is a lug 58. Pivotally mounted as at 88 to the lug 58 is the upper end of a small tank or container 6| for holding a supply 82 of liquid or semi-liquid adhesive. See Fig. 4. The bottom 68 of the tank slopes toward the lower inclined wall 64 thereof and in the resultant low corner of the tank we provide an elongated opening 68. The sidewalls of the tank 8| extend below the opening 66 as indicated at 81 to provide means for rotatably supporting a roller 88. The sidewalls 61 are provided with slightly elongated openings 68 for receiving the shaft 1| of the roller 68. By reference to Fig. 4, it will be seen that when shaft is in the upper part of slot 68, the opening 86 is uncovered so that adhesive is free to flow onto the. roller from the opening. When the shaft 1| occupies the lower part of the slot, as when the roller 88 moves to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 4, the surface of the roller closes the opening 68 and no adhesive can flow from the tank.

As shown ini Figs. 1 and 4, the side 64 of the tank carries a lug 12 having an elongated opening 18 therein. Fitting within the opening 18 is a pin 14 projecting outwardly from the rod 28. It will be apparent that when the carriage |8 commenoes to move to the left as viewed in Fig. 1, the

rod 28 moves to the left until the pin 8| carried thereby strikes the end of the carriage. This action causes pin 14 to pivot the entire adhesive tank 6| and roller 88 downwardly about the pivot point 58, causing the roller 88 to contact the surface of the second envelope from the top of the stack, uncovering the opening 86, and applying to the second envelope a thin layer of adhesive of a width substantially equal to the width of the opening 24. Upon reverse movement of the carriage. the Iroller 88 is lifted upwardly out of contact with the envelope and moves downwardly by gravity in the slotted openings 88, thereby closing the opening 88 and stopping the flow of adhesive from the tank.

Our improved mechanism for feeding the sheets of material to be cut intol strips and placed on the envelopes will now be described. Mounted at one side of the frame I8 and extending parallel with the slot 24 we provide a pair of sheet feeding rollers 18 and 11. The shaft of upper roller 16 is mounted in suitable bearings 18 and 18. The shaft of lower roller 11 is mounted at each end on arms 8| and 82, the lower end of the arms being secured to a shaft 83 journaled in suitable bearings 84 and 88, mounted on the side of the frame I8. The shaft 88, and consequently arms 8| and 82 and the lower roller 11, are free to pivot about the bearings 84 and 88, and a spring 81, see Fig. 2, serves to hold the roller 11 in contact with the roller 18. The arm 8| is provided with a handle 88 by means of which the lower roller may be manually separated from the upper roller 18 thereby to permit a sheet of material to be inserted between the rollers when desired.

The shaft of the upper roller 18 is provided with a worm gear 88 adjacent the discharge end I3 of the apparatus. Meshing with the gear 88 is a second worm gear 8| fast on a vertically disposed shaft 82 journaled in suitable brackets 83 and 84 which may be formed integrally with the end bracket I4. The upper end of shaft 82 carries a pinion 86. When the pinion 88 is rotated, the upper roller 16 rotates, and a sheet of paper disposed between the rollers 18 and 11 is fed inwardly over the slot 24 in the top 28 of the frame I8. A holding pawl 81, biased into contact with the pinion by means of a spring 88, may be provided to prevent counter-rotation of the pinion 86 and its shaft 82.

Pivotally mounted as at 88 on top of the carriage I8 is a rack I8I. The rack is so positioned with respect to the pinion 88 that it engages and rotates the pinion when the carriage moves from its extreme left hand position toward the right. A spring |82 pulls the rack |8| outwardly into the position to mesh with the pinion 88, and into contact with a limit stop |88.

After the envelope has had the strip of paper glued thereto, we provide means for ejecting the envelope from the top of the stack. As shown more clearly in Figs. 1 and 5. the carriage I8 is provided with an offset arm |84 disposed over the opening 24. The arm |84 carries depending lugs |86 and |81. Between the lugs is a pin |88 on which is pivotally mounted an ejector plate |88. The plate is of a width to fit within the slot 24 and is provided at its upper end with an angularly disposed portion I l. Mounted between the brackets |88 and |81 adjacent the angular portion III is a cross pin I|2. With the carriage moving to the left as viewed in Fig. l, the lower end of the plate |88 engages behind the edge of the uppermost envelope E of the stack and slides the same to the left over the top of wall 51, re-

moving it from the apparatus. The extension I I strikes pin I|2 to prevent counterclockwise rotation of the plate as viewed in Fig. 1. The ejector is free to rotate clockwise when the carriage is moving to the right as viewed in Fig. 1, thereby sliding over the uppermost envelope of the stack on the strip cutting stroke of the carriage.

During the cutting of sheets into strips it is sometimes desirable to cut a strip and not glue the same to an envelope, and to eject such a strip from the apparatus. As shown in Figs. 2 and 6, we mount on the side of the carriage opposite the slot 24 an ejector ||3. The ejector is mounted for pivotal movement on a pin I |4, and a stop pin ||6 is disposed to engage an extension ||1 on the ejector, thereby to limit its clockwise rotation as viewed in Fig. 6. The lower part of the ejector projects under the side of the carriage I8 as shown at I |8, Fig. 2, thereby to provide a relatively wide foot for engaging the end of a rejected strip and ejecting the same from the machine, as will later be explained.

Referring now particularly to Fig. '7, we show a modified form of cutting roller and stationary cutter elements therefor. As shown, the roller I|9 is provided adjacent each end with concave depressions |2|. At the ends the roller ||9 has secured thereto by screws |22 removable annular disc cutters |23, the peripheries of which coact with a pair of stationary cutter elements |24 to shear the sheet. The roller may be mounted for rotation on the carriage I8 by a stud |26, in the same way as roller 23 is mounted. We have found that the depressions |2| aid the roller in shearing certain types of paper by providing a small relief for the paper at the point of shear.

It will be apparent that a sheet of paper placed over the cutters |24 is sheared by the passage thereover of the discs |23 carried by roller II9. The central portion |9a of the roller presses the strip so cut into contact with the envelope beneath the cutters |24 and the opening therebetween, in the same way as does the roller 23.

From the foregoing, the operation of our improved strip cutting and gluing apparatus may now be readily explained and understood. To insert a stack of envelopes, the handle 53 is pulled downwardly, releasing the arm 48 and permitting the plate 41 to move downwardly in the compartment 46. The stack of envelopes is slid into the compartment with the ends of 'the envelopes contacting the wall 51. The handle is released, whereupon spring 54 presses the stack upwardly into contact with the underside of the top 26. The sheet of paper to be cut into strips and pasted on the envelope is inserted between the rollers 16 and 11 by pulling downwardly on the handle 88 to separate the rollers. With the carriage to the right as viewed in Fig. 1, handle 44 is rotated to move the carriage |8 to the extreme left position as viewed in Fig. 1, a supply of adhesive being previously placed in the tank 6|. Adhesive is supplied to the second lowermost envelope while the uppermost one is ejected as a blank. The handle 44 is now rotated in a direction to pull the carriage to the right. The rack I| engages pinion 96, rotating the shaft 92 and roller 16, thereby feeding the sheet of material inwardly to lie over the slot 24. During this movement the adhesive roller 68 is lifted upwardly and closes the opening 66. The diameter of the rollers 16 and 11, the ratio between the gears 89-9 I, pinion 96 and its rack |0| are such that a strip substantially the width of the slot 24 is fed inwardly each time the roller 16 rotates. Continued rightward movement of the carriage causes the roller 23 to engage the top of the sheet, and, in cooperation with the edge 24a of the opening 24 shears the strip as illustrated in Fig. 8. The strip S, simultaneously with the cutting thereof, is pressed into contact with the upper surface of the uppermost envelope E of the stack, and ls glued thereto. As soon as the carriage reaches the end of its traverse toward the right, handle 44 is operated in the opposite direction, moving the carriage again to the left. This motion causes the ejector plate |09 to engage behind the uppermost envelope and propel the same to the left. Simultaneously, the roller 68 is pressed into contact with the next subjacent envelope E of the stack, the shaft 1| thereof shifting in the slot 69 thereby to uncover the passage 66 permitting a flow of adhesive onto the roll 66, and depositing a lm of adhesive on the subjacent envelope. The pivoted rack slips over the teeth of the pinion 96, the holding pawl 91 assuring no counter rotation of the shaft 92 and hence the roller 16. At the end of the leftward movement, the handle 44 is :rotated oppositely, thus shifting the rod 28 in the opening 21, simultaneously raising the tank 6| and roller 68, gravity causing the roller 68 to moveV downwardly in slot 69 to again seal the opening 66 for the duration of the movement to the right. The ejector plate |09 slides over the top of the envelopes whenever the carriage is moved to the right, since the same is free to pivot clockwise on the pin |08.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that we have devised an improved strip cutting and gluing machine which is fully effective for its intended purpose. The machine is particularly adapted for use in Aseparating individual columns of a composite pay record sheet and pasting the strips on a pay record, such for instance as a pay envelope. A pay roll sheet of this type is shown, described and claimed in the copending application of Frazier O. Hosmer, Serial No. 647,977, filed February 15, 1946, now Patent No. 2,440,337. While especially adapted for use in connection with the pay roll sheets above identied, it will be apparent that our machine may be used for various purposes. For instance, it may be used as a paper cutter alone by removing the spring 81 and permitting the feed roller 11 to drop downwardly and by omitting the adhesive from the tank 6 I. Likewise the roller 23 may be removed and the gluing feature used to place a strip of glue or adhesive on any desired sheet. Likewise, by substituting a spiked roller for the roller 23 and omitting the supply of adhesive from the tank 6|, our machine may serve effectively as a perforator, the sheets to be perforated being placed either on the plate 41 for single line perforation, or fed through the rollers 16 and 11 for multiple line perforation.

As before stated, during the process of cutting strips from a sheet it is sometimes desired to cut one of the strips and eject the same from the machine without gluing it on an envelope. Such an operation is accomplished by our apparatus in the following manner. The crank 44 is operated in a. direction to pull the carriage to the right, Fig. 1, until the rack |0| engages and rotates the pinion 96, and feed roller 16. Instead of continuing the rightward movement of the carriage, the handle 44 is now rotated oppositely thereby causing the carriage to move back to the left. Upon rotating the handle in a direction to move the carriage again to the right, the rack |0| engages the pinion 96, rotating the feed roll 1l a second time, thus feeding the strip over the edge 24h of the slot 24. Upon continued movement to the right, the roller cuts and glues one strip onto an envelope and at the same time cuts and leaves a vstrip overhanging to the right of the slot 24 as viewed in Fig. 2. Upon leftward movement of the carriage the overhanging slip is ejected by the ejector H3 carried by the carriage I8 as already described.

While we have shown the stationary cutters as being the sides of the opening 24, it will be ap parent that removable cutter elements similar to the elements |24 may be positioned in suitable manner on the top 26 of the frame adjacent slot 24 to coact with roller 23 in shearing the strips. It will likewise be apparent that instead of supplying adhesive from the tank 6i, we may illl the same with a suitable solvent for a dried glue which has been previously applied to the envelopes. If desired the sheet from which the strips are being cut may be coated with dried adhesive and the solvent applied from tank 6I to the envelope.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that we have devised an improved apparatus for cutting and gluing a strip to an envelope or the like embodying means to automatically cut and glue the strip to an envelope and eject the envelope upon completion of the strip securing operation. The roller 23, being relatively wide and free of sharp edges, together with the flat cutters formed by the edge of the slot 24 or the separate cutters |24 make for safety in operation since these parts are not sufficiently sharp to injure an operators hand. While we have shown and described the strips as being applied to envelopes, it is apparent that our machine is equally suited to cut and apply the same to such records as checks. cards, ledger sheets, etc.

While we have shown our invention in but two forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modiilcations, without departing from the spirit thereof, and We desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. In apparatus for cutting a strip from a sheet of material and pressing the strip into contact with an envelope, a carriage, a cutting roller mounted on the carriage, a stationary cutter having an edge cooperating with the roller to shear the sheet, means to position the sheet over the edge of the cutter, means to place an envelope beneath the roller and disposed to hold the envelope in position for the roller to press the strip into contact therewith, and means to move the carriage whereby the roller simultaneously shears the strip and presses the same against the envelope.

2. In apparatus for cutting a strip of paper from a sheet and pressing the strip into contact with an envelope and the like, a carriage, a cutting roller mounted on the carriage, a stationary cutter having an edge disposed to cooperate with the roller to shear the strip from the sheet, means to position the sheet over the edge of the cutter, a holder for a stack of envelopes beneath the roller, means to bias the stack of envelopes toward the roller, and means to move the carriage and roller over the sheet of material whereby the roller simultaneously ssears the strip and presses it against the uppermost envelope of the stack.

3. Apparatus as deiined in claim 2 in which the means to position the sheet over the cutter comprises a pair of feed rollers disposed alongside the cutter and between which the sheet is received, and means operable responsive to movement of the carriage to rotate at least one of said rollers thereby to feed the sheet over the cutter.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 in which the means tn rotate the feed rollers comprises a pivotally mounted rack carried by the carriage, a pinion disposed in the path of the rack. and gears to transmit rotary motion of the pinion to one of the feed rollers.

5. In apparatus for cutting a strip from a sheet of material and gluing the same to an envelope, a reciprocable carriage, a roller mounted on the carriage, a stationary cutter having an edge disposed to cooperate with a side o! the roller to shear the sheet when the carriage moves in one direction, means to position the sheet over the cutter, a, holder for a stack of envelopes beneath the roller and stationary cutter, means tc bias the stack of envelopes upwardly with the uppermost envelope positioned to have the strip pressed into contact therewith by the roller, an adhesive applicator carried by the carriage and adapted to place adhesive on the subjacent envelope lyins immediately beneath the uppermost envelope when the carriage moves in the opposite direction, and means carried by the carriage to eject the uppermost envelope of the stack when the carriage moves in a direction to place adhesive on said subjacent envelope.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 in which the adhesive applicator comprises a tank pivotally mounted to the carriage, an adhesive applying roller mounted for rotation beneath the tank, there being an opening in the bottom of the tank through which adhesive therein flows onto the roller, and a link connection between the carriage and the tank to raise the tank and roller out of contact with the sheet when the carriage moves in a direction to cut the strip.

'7. In apparatus of the character described, a reciprocable carriage, a cutting roller mounted for rotation on the carriage, a stationary cutter element disposed beneath the roller to cooperate therewith and shear a sheet of material, a holder for receiving a stack of envelopes disposed beneath the roller and stationary cutter, means to bias the stack of envelopes toward the roller, a pivotally mounted adhesive applicator carried by the carriage and disposed when the carriage is moving in one direction to contact and place adhesive on an envelope in the stack and when the carriage is moving in the other direction to be raised out of contact with the envelopes in the stack, a pair of sheet feeding rollers disposed alongside the cutting roller, means to reciprocate the carriage, and means responsive to reciprocation of the carriage to rotate one of the sheet feeding rollers, thereby to position the sheet over the cutter elements in position for the cutting roller to shear the same.

8. In apparatus of the character described, a reciprocable carriage, a roller mounted on the carriage, stationary cutters disposed at each end of the roller and cooperating therewith to shear a pair of strips from a sheet, means to reciprocate the carriage, sheet feeding mechanism constructed and arranged to position the sheet over the cutters responsive to movement of the carriage in one direction, means to place an envelope beneath the roller in position for one of said strips to be pressed into contact therewith by the roller, an ejector mechanism on the carriage disposed to eject the envelope onto which said strip is pressed when the carriage moves in an opposite direction, and another ejector on the carriage operable to eject the other strip when the carriage moves in said opposite direction.

9. In apparatus for separating a, sheet of material into strips and gluing the strips onto envelopes and the like, a reciprocable carriage, a roller mounted on the carriage, a stationary cutter disposed to cooperate with the roller to shear strips from the sheet when the carriage moves in one direction, means to feed the sheet over the cutter, a shiftable pin in the carriage, stops on the pin to` limit the shifting movement thereof, a cable having its ends secured to opposite ends of the shiftable pin, a friction drum about which the cable is wound, means to rotate the drum in opposite directions thereby to shift the pin and reciprocate the carriage, an adhesive applicator pivotally mounted on the carriage, a connection between the applicator and pin whereby the applicator is lowered when the Ipin shifts in one direction and is raised when the pin shifts in the opposite direction, a stack of envelopes beneath the roller and cutter with the uppermost envelope of the stack disposed to have thestrip pressed'thereagainst by the roller when the carriage moves in a direction to lift the adhesive applicator, and ejector mechanism for removing the envelope carrying strip when the carriage moves in directions to lower the adhesive applicator onto the next subiacent yenvelope of the stack.

10. In apparatus of the character described, a K

, posed alongside the stationary cutter and adapted to receive between them the sheet of material to be cut into strips, a pinion at one end of the feed rollers, a rack on the carriage disposed to engage and rotate the pinion when the carriage moves toward the opposite ends of the feed rollers. gears operable to transmit rotary motion of the pinion to one of the feed rollers thereby to feed the sheet inwardly over the stationary cutter. means to support a stack of envelopes beneath the stationary cutter embodying an upwardly biased plate on which .the stack rests,'a tank for a supply of adhesive pivotally mounted on the carriage, a roller beneath the tank disposed to receive adhesive therefrom when the tank is in lowered position and place the same on an envelope of the stack, drive means for reciprocating the carriage, a, lost motion connection between the drive means and carriage, and means operable through the lost motion connection to raise the tank and roller carried thereby out of contact with the envelopes when the carriage moves toward the said opposite ends of the feed rollers.

ROBERT S. HOSMER. FRAZIER O. HOSMER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,487,302 Willis Mar. 18, 1924 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 398,018 Great Britain Sept. 7, 1933 639,724 France Mar. 17, 1928 

